T. Albo “Get a Curly” they said, “they’re docile!”

cheddarappleandhoney

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Messages
9
Behold, my female Albopilosus attacking a paintbrush. She gave it 3 dry bites before finally stepping away. Seriously though, first time she’s done that. I still consider her docile. Very glad I didn’t just reach in to grab the dish though!

Anyone have pics of their ‘docile’ type having tantrums?

(The dish isn’t actually dirty, we have hard water and the calc build up makes it look grosser than it truly is so I give it a light scrub every refill vs just pouring more in)
89F80E25-4D10-438D-8E64-88995F8F1C05.jpeg B169B05E-CE1E-45FF-80CB-33041BDA372E.jpeg
 

ladyratri

Arachnobaron
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 15, 2022
Messages
484
Behold, my female Albopilosus attacking a paintbrush. She gave it 3 dry bites before finally stepping away. Seriously though, first time she’s done that. I still consider her docile. Very glad I didn’t just reach in to grab the dish though!

Anyone have pics of their ‘docile’ type having tantrums?

(The dish isn’t actually dirty, we have hard water and the calc build up makes it look grosser than it truly is so I give it a light scrub every refill vs just pouring more in)
View attachment 446589 View attachment 446591
"This is why we never put our fingers in a tarantula bin."

The one thing my 5 year old hears every single time we talk about my T's 🤣
 

Wolfram1

Arachnoprince
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
1,303
Sure looks like your little one has adapted the enclosure to be a doll-house though :troll:
 

IntermittentSygnal

Arachnotic
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
683
I'll bite..why would you be using a paintbrush to grab a water dish? I just wait until mine is Not right next to its water dish and grab it with bamboo tongs.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

Arachnoemperor
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
4,628
I'll bite..why would you be using a paintbrush to grab a water dish? I just wait until mine is Not right next to its water dish and grab it with bamboo tongs.
Must be like a bull and a matador? This spider must be so defensive it guards the water dish ? ..? I’ve grabbed a dish right beside a t and it never cared , others just go mad kicking hairs or showing fangs
Behold, my female Albopilosus attacking a paintbrush. She gave it 3 dry bites before finally stepping away. Seriously though, first time she’s done that. I still consider her docile. Very glad I didn’t just reach in to grab the dish though!

Anyone have pics of their ‘docile’ type having tantrums?

(The dish isn’t actually dirty, we have hard water and the calc build up makes it look grosser than it truly is so I give it a light scrub every refill vs just pouring more in)
View attachment 446589 View attachment 446591
the couch is priceless haha .. :rofl: maybe wait til she’s on the other side of the enclosure next time ?
.
 

juniperkisses440

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 5, 2022
Messages
7
I have three sweet and docile curlys, a hungry curly, and two psycho curlys. I would not and will not handle or put my bare hands into the last three ever. I also thought curlys were “docile and calm” lol. Every one is different but I feel it really goes one way or another for curlys tbh.
 

TechnoGeek

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
125
Aight, first thing to mention is that tarantulas, just like people, aren't created equal. Some will be more spicy than others, regardless of the sp. When people tell you that curly hairs are generally docile they mean that if you get one, odds are it'll be calm and chill. This doesn't mean there's no chance that it'll be a nightmare, just that this isn't likely.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure she was trying to hunt, and not attacking you out if aggression or even defensiveness. My A geniculatas are like that, they would pounce and grab my finger in an instant if I reach into their enclosure all of a sudden, but if you tap them with the tongs, or otherwise let them know you're not food, they're mostly pretty chill.

20230602_205405-01.jpeg

Also T albo aren't recommended for beginners solely because they're usually calm (although this is a very important factor for me at least when recommending a first T). To be considered beginner friendly, a T must also be fairly hardy and forgiving of husbandry mistakes, and possess mild urticating hairs, and curly hair Ts certainly have that covered.
 

LucN

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
315
Yes, T. albo generally aren't defensive. They've just got a really strong prey drive like A. geniculata. Striking 3 times at the brush is clear sign it wasn't in a good mood, however. When attempting to pull out water dishes, I always wait for the T to be on the opposite end of the enclosure. Less chances of accidentally dropping the dish on the T if it startles you with a misplaced feeding response. Also, try NOT to drop the dish at all, just saying.
 

cheddarappleandhoney

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Messages
9
I'll bite..why would you be using a paintbrush to grab a water dish? I just wait until mine is Not right next to its water dish and grab it with bamboo tongs.
I was doing more maintenance than just that, I wanted her to go into her burrow and paintbrush is the softest tool to nudge with
 
Last edited:

cheddarappleandhoney

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Messages
9
Aight, first thing to mention is that tarantulas, just like people, aren't created equal. Some will be more spicy than others, regardless of the sp. When people tell you that curly hairs are generally docile they mean that if you get one, odds are it'll be calm and chill. This doesn't mean there's no chance that it'll be a nightmare, just that this isn't likely.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure she was trying to hunt, and not attacking you out if aggression or even defensiveness. My A geniculatas are like that, they would pounce and grab my finger in an instant if I reach into their enclosure all of a sudden, but if you tap them with the tongs, or otherwise let them know you're not food, they're mostly pretty chill.

View attachment 446694

Also T albo aren't recommended for beginners solely because they're usually calm (although this is a very important factor for me at least when recommending a first T). To be considered beginner friendly, a T must also be fairly hardy and forgiving of husbandry mistakes, and possess mild urticating hairs, and curly hair Ts certainly have that covered.
Lol I know. The title was a joke. I’m far from a beginner keeper haha
 

cheddarappleandhoney

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Messages
9
Yes, T. albo generally aren't defensive. They've just got a really strong prey drive like A. geniculata. Striking 3 times at the brush is clear sign it wasn't in a good mood, however. When attempting to pull out water dishes, I always wait for the T to be on the opposite end of the enclosure. Less chances of accidentally dropping the dish on the T if it startles you with a misplaced feeding response. Also, try NOT to drop the dish at all, just saying.
I was doing maintenance over the whole tank and ideally trying to move her into her burrow. I wasn’t trying to just grab it.
Must be like a bull and a matador? This spider must be so defensive it guards the water dish ? ..? I’ve grabbed a dish right beside a t and it never cared , others just go mad kicking hairs or showing fangs

the couch is priceless haha .. :rofl: maybe wait til she’s on the other side of the enclosure next time ?
.
Lol I was trying to move her into her burrow so I could do maintenance all over. She was probably just hungry :hungry: she’s normally chill. And thanks I made the couch myself!
 

Ultum4Spiderz

Arachnoemperor
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
4,628
I was doing maintenance over the whole tank and ideally trying to move her into her burrow. I wasn’t trying to just grab it.

Lol I was trying to move her into her burrow so I could do maintenance all over. She was probably just hungry :hungry: she’s normally chill. And thanks I made the couch myself!
Yeah I did the same thing redoing my phampho tank knowing once it goes in it’s hide I’m clear to do maintenance. It just kicked hairs and ran off into its hide . Didn’t even try to bite :rofl: I corralled it with a catch cup . Although I didn’t catch it ofc ..
 

spideyspinneret78

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Messages
1,260
If you have a specimen that aggressive, you could always try feeding it a small mealworm or something so that way it'll be distracted with eating its food and won't react as much to you grabbing the water dish.
 

ladyratri

Arachnobaron
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 15, 2022
Messages
484
If you have a specimen that aggressive, you could always try feeding it a small mealworm or something so that way it'll be distracted with eating its food and won't react as much to you grabbing the water dish.
I tried this with my G. pulchra sling and, well, she shortly began developing some ...interesting eating habits.
20230604_041146-COLLAGE.jpg
 

Isaax Critterz

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
May 4, 2022
Messages
185
"Don't believe anything you see on the internet, they said"...Every t is different.
 

Isaax Critterz

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
May 4, 2022
Messages
185
Behold, my female Albopilosus attacking a paintbrush. She gave it 3 dry bites before finally stepping away. Seriously though, first time she’s done that. I still consider her docile. Very glad I didn’t just reach in to grab the dish though!

Anyone have pics of their ‘docile’ type having tantrums?

(The dish isn’t actually dirty, we have hard water and the calc build up makes it look grosser than it truly is so I give it a light scrub every refill vs just pouring more in)
View attachment 446589 View attachment 446591
but does you're T use the couch though...
 
Top